I wanted to gather the prickly pear fruit in the worst way. I was willing to risk the consequences which were not inconsequential. The outer prickly needles on the outside of the fruit easily stick to skin causing pain and discomfort for days and sometimes weeks. Every time one touches the part of the skin that has a thorn in it, a painful reminder from the prickly pear. The fruit has spoken. I, like many people, wouldn’t mind it so much if I didn’t feel the thorn every time that touched my thorns in the palm of my hand. It is no small wonder that when I mention the fruit, people tighten up their faces, scowl or warn me.
No , I was not delusional , and no , I didn’t want it just because I could get lots of it, FREE just for the picking. It is delicious and has health benefits. The prickly pear has a mechanism of action, which promotes a faster and better glucose entry into the cell, in diabetics as well as non-diabetics. It is high in amino acids. Some reports say that eating this fruit helps with hangover and is touted for its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
It has seeds and an oil that can be extracted from the tiny seeds contained within the fruit. The prickly pear seed oil is now recognized for its anti-ageing properties, and although it is still early days in the industry, many cosmetic companies are showing a strong interest in this precious oil. The small prickly pear fruit also contains numerous effective chemical ingredients that are now being used by pharmaceutical laboratories for medicinal purposes. In a French study, 49 women with a normal body mass index were randomly assigned to take either 2 grams of prickly pear extract or a placebo for 28 days. At the end of the 28 days of the double-bind study, women taking the prickly pear extract showed significant weight loss compared to the placebo group.
So what does this have to do with intuition and/or spirituality? Why would I bother writing about this? No, I don’t need to fill space in my newsletter? Picking the fruit is not relaxing in the same ways as picking blackberries, apples or bay leaves and relaxing activities can put the brain in a mode to access information. I did use my intuition to find ways to keep “safe.” while picking. I believe that this is what some might call survival or common sense. Some people refer to intuition as commonsense!
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